Community Building expands to neighboring Saranac Hotel

Visitors strolling through the Community Building at 35 W. Main in Spokane will notice a theme quickly starts to emerge.

The Center for Justice, a nonprofit law firm, is here, as is Northwest Fair Housing. The Peace and Justice Action League, Inland Northwest Land Trust and PEACH (Positive Education and Action for Children’s Health) all are under this roof.

The floor plan is open, with common space stretching down the center of the building and offices branching off on the sides. The idea is that openness breeds communication, sharing of ideas and hopefully, reaching common goals. The rooftop features solar panels which fulfill 12 percent of the building’s power needs, along with a garden, where tenants grow tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables.

“The premise was that we would bring together groups involved in social justice and environmental justice, recognizing that you can’t have one without the other,” said Dave Sanders, community coordinator for the building.

Now the Community Building’s mission is expanding, literally and figuratively, to the building next door. Owner Jim Sheehan, a former public defender, purchased the four-story Saranac Hotel at 25-29 W. Main, and plans to renovate it in the same spirit. Sheehan unexpectedly inherited a large sum of money several years ago and used it to develop the Community Building. Tenants pay in rent only what’s needed for the building’s maintenance and operations, Sanders said. Their rent also is subsidized, in part, by Sheehan.

“I was seeing how well it was working and how much it was being used,” Sheehan said. “I thought maybe the opportunity of being in the Community Building could be expanded and there could be more people involved.”

The Saranac project has an additional goal of promoting green building practices and will be seeking LEED certification, Sanders said. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design stamp of approval is given by the U.S. Green Building Council to buildings that meet a high degree of environmental sustainability. The Spokane Convention Center expansion also is pursuing LEED certification.

“The goal is to define what the building should be to promote sustainability within the community and to serve as an incubator for sustainable businesses,” said Rod Butler, the LEED-certified architect working on the project. “Jim has a great vision for the building. He wants it to be a project that will serve as an example to the community.”

Sheehan said the Saranac will recruit businesses and organizations that are environmentally friendly and promote fair labor practices and diversity. Project organizers are holding a meeting later this month with civic leaders, economic development representatives, historic preservationists and others to create goals for the Saranac’s redevelopment. Butler said a number of potential tenants already have expressed interest. The Community Building is currently full, Sheehan said.

On the first floor of the Saranac, built in 1909, Sheehan envisions a 60-seat movie theater that would show documentaries and independent films. A restaurant or café of some sort is also desired. Office space would be created on the upper three floors, which currently are made up of small hotel rooms. Sanders said the renovation would likely remove some of the walls to draw in more light and create the same sort of open floor plan that exists next door.

Construction is expected to begin in late winter or early spring.

When Sheehan bought the Saranac, it had been vacant for a couple of years, Sanders said. However, in addition to being a hotel, it has housed many businesses over the years. They include City Hand Laundry in the 1930s-1950s, B.C. Riblet Aerial Tramway during the 1930s and Herman’s Cabinet Shop and North Coast Supply Co. grocers during the 1940s and 1950s, according the city’s historic preservation office. The Saranac is part of the East Downtown Historic District.